Sunshine creates late gift on day before Christmas

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Martin Weill

Sunshine creates late gift on day before Christmas

Solar brilliance transforms Christmas Eve

By Martin Weil
December 24, 2023 at 7:02 p.m. EST

The full glory of the sun burst forth over D.C. late Sunday afternoon, banishing hours of gray and providing a vibrant late-hour gift from nature and the skies on the eve of Christmas. … By about 2 p.m., the sun seemed to be clearly determined to break free of the cloak and quilt of cloud that had concealed its light through Sunday’s earlier hours.

As clouds diminished and dissolved above Washington, the sun seemed at last to unencumber itself entirely about 4 p.m., in a race against the clock and the approaching hour of sunset. … Bright orange beams streamed from the skies, transforming the city into a multicolored landscape, as sharp shadows fell across walls, reflections of solar fire burned in windows and bright stripes of sunlight adorned the trunks of trees.

Expanding patches of blue sky opened overhead. After establishing itself as a warm, but dim late December day, Sunday, with seemingly unusual speed, assumed a new identity, still warm but also bright. … It seemed difficult to accept the transformation as anything other than a gift, bestowed on the city by nature, at least in part as compensation for the hours of cloud cover.

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By Martin Weil
Martin Weil is a longtime reporter at The Washington Post. Twitter https://twitter.com/martyweilwapost

[elleng]

1. Did have sun setting yesterday, southern MD:

Not so much today:

[AllaN01Bear]

2. wont let me read the story, but love ellen Gs photos